


Dearly Beloved

by EchoSiriusRumme



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Is Also A Dumbass, Bucky and Tony are just SHIELD agents, Falling In Love, He gets distracted by how beautiful tony is, Hurt Tony, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pretending to be Newlyweds, Protective Bucky, Protective Tony, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Undercover Missions, Undercover as a Couple, before Bucky got captured and got a metal arm, except they had been dating already
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-01
Updated: 2017-06-01
Packaged: 2018-11-07 14:40:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11061108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EchoSiriusRumme/pseuds/EchoSiriusRumme
Summary: His first undercover mission after being benched, and it was with the man he had beentryingto avoid.  Not only that, but they were supposed be newlyweds (where does SHIELD get these ideas?)  Complicated didn't evenbeginto cover Bucky's situation.





	Dearly Beloved

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Niki](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Niki/gifts).



> I changed my mind on how to start this story numerous times, but I hope what I've managed to come up with is satisfactory for your gift, Niki darling! ^-^ Also, credit due to my lovely friend for the title, which is always the hardest bit (after writing the actual story).
> 
> The main prompt I chose was 'pretending to be married as part of an operation', with some protective Bucky and Tony thrown in there, because that's always nice, as well as components from your other prompts and likes. Enjoy! :3

“Listen, I’m _telling_ you, you have to find another agent. I’m – I’m not ready to go on a high-stakes mission like this,” Bucky whispered harshly, anxiously eyeing the other people in the hallway as he and Steve passed. He hated that they weren’t even trying to hide their glances, just full out staring at him. And no matter what Steve said, they weren’t staring in awe, like they had been Before.

Now it was always pity, or intrigue, trying to see how he had changed since coming back from the mission that had screwed it all up.

They turned a corner, and Bucky’s heart leapt at the sight of the door to the briefing room just at the end of the hallway. Grabbing Steve’s arm and _yanking_ , Bucky stopped walking when Steve finally turned to look at him. Slowly, deliberately, Bucky said, “I. _Can’t_. Do this.”

Steve took a breath, but Bucky bulldozed through before he could respond. “I know I’ve already been cleared for missions and gone on a few, but this is on another level. And you know it Steve. I’m just going to end up fucking this up, and _then_ where will we be?”

Steve ran a hand through his hair, sighing heavily as he looked off towards the briefing room. Bucky’s heart sank when Steve shook his head, seeming to come to a decision. Turning back, Steve clasped a hand on Bucky’s shoulder and looked him in the eye. “I know this is going to be stressful for you, but as you said, this is on another level. This is _HYDRA_ Buck, it’s bigger than all of us.”

“We finally received intel on that damn organization, and we need to move _now_. You know that I and the rest of the qualified agents have been made by HYDRA in the past, that’s why we have to send you. I’d much rather have you stay and recover more, but I also know you’ve been doing so well lately.”

Squeezing Bucky’s shoulder once more before releasing him, Steve started walking towards the door again. Bucky had no choice but to follow, tuning back in when he realized Steve was still talking to him. “-be alone, Mr. Stark is going to accompany you. I don’t know him so well, but Nat says that since you have to go on this mission, he’s not a bad choice for a partner.”

_‘Partner.’_ Bucky scoffed, recalling just what their mission entailed and honestly, what had caused him the most anxiety. “I still can’t believe that such a prestigious organization like SHIELD couldn’t come up with a better plan than ‘pretend to be newlyweds’. I thought they wanted us to treat this seriously?”

Steve only rolled his eyes at Bucky’s comment, already used to these complaints that had started when they first got the notice. A few more steps and they were at the door, Steve turning the knob to let them in. Bucky avoided eye contact with the other inhabitants of the room as he strode in, only looking up when he was safely seated beside Steve.

There was Director Fury standing at the head of the table, his perpetual frown firmly in place.

Natasha Romanoff, _the_ master spy, sat to the left of him. She was leaning back in her chair, arms crossed and sharp eyes taking in everything around her. Blinking, Bucky realized what was wrong with the picture – she was missing her partner, a Clint Barton. The same master archer who had risked his life to get intel of HYDRA to them – and who was now recovering in Medical a few floors down. No wonder Nat’s face was more stony than usual.

Bucky only knew Clint from conversations with Steve or Natasha, or from gossip through the halls. Apparently, his love for his bow and arrows was only rivaled by his love for pizza - but just utter the moniker Hawkeye in the halls, and a glimmer of awe, sometimes fear, would enter the others agent’s eyes.

Bucky huffed. He was a double-sided blade it seemed, unlike his usual partner Natasha, who didn’t have a friendlier side that came out in the halls. Or, if it did, she was even scarier, as Natasha’s idea of kicking back and destressing meant kicking _ass_ and sparring with whichever unlucky soul her eyes would rest upon first. Bucky fought back a shudder at the memories that evoked, and continued moving his gaze around the table.

And promptly wished he hadn’t, as he made eye contact with none other than Tony Stark. The man he was supposed to pretend to be married to for this godforsaken mission. The man he had been kind of secretly dating before shit hit the fan and Bucky was captured. Also, the man he had been continuously avoiding despite Tony’s best attempts to see him….that man.

But no matter how much it hurt to keep away from Tony like this, Bucky knew that he couldn’t dump all his troubles onto Tony either. Even if he could still remember the first time he saw Tony, the fond memories that followed constantly coming to mind and making it _that much harder_ to avoid Tony.

Bucky had had to go pick up a new gun after his previous one had gotten fried – literally, fried and burnt to ashes, how the hell was HYDRA creating these weapons? Seeing Tony in his element had been an experience in and of itself.

Suit jacket slung over a nearby chair, the sleeves of his dress shirt pulled up in an attempt to avoid the grease that was now covering his hands, Tony had been _electric_. Popping over to one desk and assisting his engineers, eyes sparkling with energy and joy when they succeeded. Rallying the interns, giving miniature pep talks in between bouncing ideas back and forth with his more veteran workers. It had been amazing to see.

_‘And he still ain’t bad to look at,’_ Bucky mused, taking in the bespoke suit and artfully tousled hair. He brought his gaze back down to the man’s eyes, biting back a smirk at how he was obviously taking in Bucky too.

Warm brown eyes met his once more, a smile crossing Tony’s lips when he realized he’d been caught. Leaning forward to rest an elbow on the table, Tony extended a hand to Bucky, saying, “Tony Stark, engineer extraordinaire, genius, and _totally_ badass secret agent at your service.” After all, they were supposed to be strangers – Bucky hadn’t even told Steve at the time, wanting to keep Tony all to himself.

Steve heaved a sigh to his right, while Natasha outright snorted at the comment. Tony wasn’t fazed, keeping his hand out to shake and shining a winning smile at Bucky. Too bad it was his left, meaning Bucky would have to use his _own_ left to grasp Tony’s hand, which…Bucky was not ready to do yet.

Yet another souvenir Bucky had brought back with him – or rather, _hadn’t_ – was his left arm. Now he sported a metal arm that Bucky hated to look at, as it reminded him of what he had gone through during that mission. Never mind all the nightmares and PTSD from the psychological torture – this was a _physical_ reminder that he was not the same man he was Before.

Someone cleared their throat, and Bucky blinked back to the present when he felt a hand on his right shoulder. He turned as if in a daze, coming out of it when he recognized Steve beside him. A concerned frown marred his friends’ face, and Steve asked softly, “Is everything all right?”

Bucky allowed himself a few more seconds to push the memories back, breathing deeply before saying gruffly, “Yeah, fine. Just – just got lost for a second there.”

That didn’t help matters, as Steve’s frown only deepened at that response, but Bucky quickly shook his head. _‘Not here, please.’_ Steve seemed to understand his unspoken plea, and turned back to Fury, who started the briefing.

Bucky abruptly remembered what had sent him down his fucked-up memory lane, and whipped his head back towards Tony. But the man had turned his attention to the director as well, both hands back on his side of the table, clasped together in front of him.

He must have felt Bucky’s gaze though, turning his head slightly to look at Bucky again. A question lay hidden in those eyes, and Bucky found himself nodding slightly, letting out another breath to dispel the rest of the nasty feelings. Tony inclined his head before turning his attention back to Fury, but Bucky couldn’t help but feel better at the relief he could see in the other man’s eyes.

**\------------------------------------------------**

“Stop fiddling, it’ll be fine,” Tony said, tapping lightly at Bucky’s fingers where they were toying with a stray thread on the glove that covered his metal hand.

Bucky released the thread, only to start pulling at his collar a few minutes later, undoing and redoing the top button anxiously. Tony sighed, coming to a stop and placing a gentle hand on Bucky’s right arm to pull him off the sidewalk. Bucky bit his lip, unable to meet Tony’s eyes as the other man tried to get his attention.

His nerves were shot to hell, each person that they passed making him twitch anxiously, no matter how few they were. This town was said to be a front for a HYDRA base, so not all of them _had_ to be HYDRA agents…but what if they were? How likely was it that Bucky might be made? What if he blew their cover before they could get anything? God, why did Steve have to insist on him taking this mission?

It took him a few minutes, but Bucky soon registered a nice, low voice coming from right in front of him. Realizing he had closed his eyes at some point, Bucky blinked away the tears that had sprung up in his panic. Looking up from his lap, he also noticed he was crouched beside a small store, Tony in a similar position in front of him.

Meeting Tony’s eyes, that same wave of relief passed through those warm brown eyes, before the man snapped back into action. “You back with me? Don’t try to get up until you’re ready, nobody is really out right now and I can deal with any concerned townsfolk. Take your time.”

Tony patted Bucky on the shoulder, getting to his feet, and Bucky had the strongest urge to pull him closer again. Even Before that whole mess, Bucky had absolutely _loved_ cuddling with Tony, laying together on the couch for hours on end. But he was already risking getting attention, so Bucky just focused on calming his breathing.

When he felt ready, Bucky took Tony’s proffered hand to pull himself to his feet – he wasn’t a _total_ asshole. But he brushed off Tony’s inquiring glances, perfectly fine with ignoring what had just happened and continued walking to their house.

Tony quickly caught up, thankfully staying silent even as he sidled up to Bucky, their shoulders brushing with every other step. Bucky took comfort in the proximity, so at ease with Tony by his side that he didn’t even notice that Tony was holding his hand until he released it as they reached the house. His _left_ hand on top of that. 

The traitorous side of him that had missed Tony these past few months whimpered at the loss of Tony’s warmth. Bucky quickly snuffed that initial reaction out, following Tony into the house without a word. _‘Not gonna happen,’_ Bucky thought angrily. _‘He’s better off without me.’_

Walking into the house, Bucky paused just inside the doorway. The inside of the house looked nothing like what you would expect from the outside. What had been a quaint living room was now a tech hub, three desks lined up with a couple heavy duty computers connected to small antennas already set up and whirring softly. A laptop sat closed on a smaller table, set in front of a rather comfy looking couch. 

Tony was already standing at the desks, fiddling with his phone before asking, “All right J, you in?”

Bucky startled slightly at the crisp British voice that answered, echoing from the laptop on the coffee table behind him. “Indeed, sir. Ready to assist.”

Tony grinned wide, fingers flying over the keyboard in the next second. Peeking over at Bucky, he said, “Close that door lover boy, and help me find that weapon in this godforsaken town.”

Bucky paused in the middle of reaching for the door, remembering how he used to call Tony pet names, Tony responding in kind. A warm feeling started to bloom in his chest, but then Bucky shook his head slightly.

Tony wouldn’t have meant it that way, he was just going along with the mission…right? Bucky had thought his intentions were clear in how he had been avoiding Tony until now, and Tony must be relieved that he doesn’t have to deal with Bucky’s mountain of issues too.

Shutting the door and locking it, Bucky turned back to Tony to see him quickly change his frown into a grin. Bucky knew Tony’s smiles, and what was on his face right now was a fake. It didn’t quite meet his eyes, which shimmered with worry and distress.

But Tony was already gesturing Bucky over to the table, words flying out of his mouth a mile a minute, so Bucky let it go for now. His concerns could come up after this damn mission.

**\------------------------------------------------**

“OK, so we have to find a security room. With a place this big, it’d be _so_ much better to find the surveillance cameras and find that damned weapon that way,” Tony whispered.

Bucky nodded in agreement, keeping his gun up to cover Tony as they walked through the halls. Within six hours of setting up base, Tony and JARVIS had managed to hack into the security system that the whole town used. From there, they were able to find a separate system, that covered an area three times the size of the town, _underneath_ it.

There had been no doubt that that was the HYDRA base, and they had just needed to find the entrance. Bucky had pitched in at one point, saying that HYDRA believed in the Norse gods, so maybe there would be something around or in the church. Bingo!

Bucky had dressed in his black uniform, not missing the glances that Tony snuck as he was buckling all the straps. He’d peeked at Tony as well, appreciating how his SHIELD outfit molded to each curve possible. As he had been taking inventory, stocking up on bullets and guns, Bucky had watched Tony put on a watch. Some fiddling, and suddenly Tony had a red metal glove on his right hand, a blue light in the middle of his palm humming softly.

There was so much Bucky wanted to ask, to know about what Tony had been up to since Bucky had been captured. He missed the late nights of watching Tony invent and create – he wished he could have been there when Tony first made that watch, and have seen the blue light reflect in Tony’s eyes.

Bucky shook his head harshly, the empty hallway and Tony in front of him getting back into focus. _‘This is_ no _time to be daydreaming. Stay focused, protect Tony, retrieve the weapon.’_ He readjusted his grip on his gun, staying close to Tony and alert to all noises around them.

They’d passed quite a few rooms already, trying their best to stay in the cameras’ blind spots during their trek. Tony carefully peeked inside the next room, before letting out a small ‘yay’ that just about killed Bucky from the cute. Looking back at Bucky, he muttered in slight embarrassment, “I, uh, found the surveillance room.”

Checking that the coast was clear, they quickly crowded into the room. Bucky immediately went to the huge monitor, quickly taking in all the different camera views. In the corner of his eye, Bucky could see Tony doing something at one of the computers in the room. Carefully looking through the various screens, Bucky finally found what he was looking for.

“I found the weapon. It’s is in the next quadrant over.” Bucky mapped out which hallways would lead them to the heavily guarded room, with the least amount of trouble in the halls at least. _‘..turn right, another right, second door to the left, get the weapon, get to SHIELD, talk to Tony,’_ Bucky thought out, his jaw clenching slightly as his resolve solidified with the plan.

Of course it couldn’t be that easy. Bucky was walking towards Tony, who was just taking a USB out of the computer, when the door blew open inwards. Instinct kicked in, and Bucky had his gun lifted and ready when the first HYDRA agent walked through the doorway. One slight pull of the trigger, and they were down, the agent right behind him taken down in the next second.

Tony had his glove gauntlet assembled by then, palm pointed out as they waited for the rest of the agents to try and stop them. A minute passed with no movement however, and Bucky cautiously started towards the doorway. He saw Tony raise his gloved hand in reaction, covering Bucky as he started to peek around the frame.

Then he was frantically yanking his head back at the sight of a huge HYDRA agent carrying an assault rifle as big as his arm. Bucky yelled, “Get down!”, running to Tony and fairly tackling him to the ground. The air was ripped with bullets an instant later, and Bucky hunched over Tony as best he could, protecting the man’s head with his metal arm.

Despite the terrible situation, Bucky couldn’t help but think, _‘Finally, this fucking arm comes to good use!’_

Eventually the rifle ran out of bullets, and Bucky could hear the man stomping down the hallway towards them. Bucky leapt to his feet, yanking Tony up and staying in front of the smaller man. Naturally, Tony shoved at him until at least he could aim with his glove properly, but stayed mostly behind Bucky.

The HYDRA agent bulldozed through the door, guns up and firing the instant he spotted Bucky and Tony. They each leapt away, down behind the desks for cover. Spotting Tony trying to get his attention, Bucky managed to make out what Tony was mouthing at him. _‘That’s…Rumlow?’_

A lightbulb lit up in his mind, information about a particularly dangerous HYDRA agent coming to the forefront. Brock Rumlow, heartless mercenary, with hundreds of kills under his belt. He was to be dealt with in all seriousness, or else this whole thing would be over.

Bucky got to his feet, firing shot after shot at Rumlow in an attempt to just overpower him and try to get the upper hand. Rumlow had good reflexes and heavy body armor though, bullets ricocheting off him to ping against the wall. Tony was in his own corner, giving it all he got with a gun in one hand and that glove on the other.

His brown eyes were focused in a way that only battle-adrenaline could provoke. His short hair was sweat damp and spiking up in various places, cheeks red from exertion and lips chapped and bitten from nerves. He was still a _vision_ to Bucky.

The gunshot seemed to echo through the room, and Bucky only came back to himself at Tony’s scream. “ _No!_ ” Looking down, Bucky could see red lines already trickling down from the hole in his uniform and therefore stomach, the adrenaline coursing through his body making the pain a dull ache at the moment.

Getting distracted probably wasn’t the best idea, no matter how lovely Tony looked at all times, and Steve was sure to give him a ton of grief for that when this mission was over. Bucky choked on his next breath, the pain hitting him like a ton of bricks as he fell heavily against a desk.

Tony roared in fury, lunging for Rumlow and bashing his gloved hand into the agent’s nose. Rumlow yelled out in pain, but Tony barely gave him a second to react properly before he was being punched again, this time a brutal uppercut. Bucky, as he fell to the ground, could hear Rumlow’s teeth clicking together hard from that hit.

Rumlow staggered backwards, attempting to bring his gun up to aim at Tony. Then he was screaming in pain at his singed hand, the gun a molten pile on the floor after it had been hit by Tony’s repulsor blast. His scream cut off short with another blast, Tony hitting him square in the chest.

Tony was falling to his knees beside Bucky, not even watching Rumlow fall fully to the ground after that hit. “This may look bad, but I’ve walked off worse. I’m sure _you’ve_ walked off worse, my soldier boy. You’ll be fine.” Tony’s hands were shaking as he tried to see the bullet wound through Bucky’s uniform, frantically tearing at his own undershirt the next moment as Bucky choked on a breath.

Bucky blinked slowly, his mind already slowing down as the adrenaline of the fight faded. Despite that, he never would have missed what Tony had said. “You called me. _Yours._ ” A smile slowly crossed his face at how Tony’s face flushed pink, no matter that he was desperately trying to keep Bucky from bleeding out.

Bucky caressed Tony’s cheek, realizing belatedly that it was with his metal arm once again. “I never stopped loving you…and….I’m sorry I wasted so much time,” he choked out, coughing and wincing at the pain that radiated through him at the motion.

“Don’t _talk like that_ ,” Tony fairly growled, hands pressing down on the hole in Bucky’s stomach. “Sure, we wasted some time these past months, but we can make up for that.”

Bucky smiled again at Tony’s no doubt attitude, eyes getting heavier by the second. “Always love you,” he whispered, his arm falling away from Tony’s face against his will.

“No no no, don’t do this to me Bucky! Keep your eyes open dammit! _James!_ ” Tony’s tear-streaked face was the last thing Bucky saw as the darkness finally overcame him.

**Epilogue**

Bucky blinked awake, a comforting and by now familiar warmth and weight on top of him where he lay on the couch. Lifting his head from the pillow, Bucky smiled at the sight that greeted him.

Tony was still curled up on his chest, his lower body tucked between Bucky’s and the back of the couch. Their legs were somewhat tangled together, and as he watched, Tony molded himself to Bucky’s form even more. His left hand was still gripping at Bucky’s shirt in his sleep, and Bucky’s grin widened.

Light from the setting sun bounced off the gold ring on Tony’s finger, making it shimmer just as Tony’s eyes had when Bucky had gotten down on one knee. It had been a day to remember forever, never mind the actual wedding a few months ago. Bucky took a deep breath, keeping the happy tears at bay.

Being able to call Tony his husband, after all they had gone through, after all this time, was never going to get old. Bucky nuzzled Tony’s soft hair, pressing a gentle kiss to his temple before laying his head back down on the pillow. Tightening his hold around Tony’s shoulders, Bucky allowed himself to fall back asleep, the smile on his face showing how he was _finally_ completely content.

**Author's Note:**

> This was fun to write and participate in again, and I hope that the read was at least a little enjoyable! Critiques are welcome, and comments are adored as always! Thanks for reading! :3


End file.
